4 Powerful Ways to Motivate Your Sales Team

Hanna Kim- November 28, 2018

The latest LinkedIn State of Sales report found US companies spend $800 billion on incentives to retain and reward talent and an additional $15 billion a year on sales training. The budget for sales is over four times the US advertising budget, at a high of $205 billion.

Regardless of industry or customer base, a strong sales team is vital to any company. A focused sales team can effectively reach customers and explain why your product or service is the way to go. Sales managers can create more excitement for their teams by using new tactics throughout the year. Here are some ideas for sales incentives to charge up your sales staff for success.

Financial Rewards

The most obvious incentive for salespeople is financial motivation. Commission and additional rewards for top performers are often lucrative, and a popular reason for why salespeople get into their career of choice. Some tips for managing financial incentives are creating specific goals for your whole team to aim for, not just those at the top. Having multiple rewards up for grabs in different tiers can help your entire sales team be motivated, not daunted.  

Creative Office Rewards

Sales incentives don’t always need to cost companies a fortune. Creating unique perks around the office can be rewarding for salespeople who already have a competitive spirit about them.
Especially as the temperature drops, a parking space right by the entrance for the month could be an enticing reward. Another idea is to let your team come in dressed casually after hitting a certain sales goal.

Reward with Health and Wellness

Holidays and other busy times of the year can be especially stressful. Your team’s success can be rewarded with productive downtime with a service like workplace massage. Salespeople sitting and making phone calls at their desks, driving around town for sales meetings, or flying to faraway locales for work can all use some time to relax. Chair massage has many health benefits for recipients, including stress alleviation and pain reduction.

A Reward Money Can’t Buy: Time

As the saying goes: “time is money,” but money can’t buy anyone more time. There’s a reason people love holidays - time off work allows people to relax and rejuvenate. Use a day off work as an incentive to boost sales. Consider other options that may be more suitable for your team, such as a half-day off or increased flexibility with one’s schedule.

A great sales manager is key to a great sales team. As a leader, it is important to continuously find and implement new ways to increase your team’s performance. Help your team focus on closing deals by using exciting and useful incentives to motivate sales and sales.